Frozen Lake

August 7th, 2007

Report Summary

We all hiked up to Frozen Lake today; we started from Glacier Gorge TH at 5:45AM. The weather was cool with a thin veil of clouds over the upper gorge. We set a good pace and made use of the fire trail, bypassing Alberta Falls, in both directions. After a short stop at Black Lake, we continued to the upper gorge.

Once up on the shelf above Black, we followed the trail a short way to a small water fall or cascade. The trail crosses through the middle of it. Sandy and Ali followed this route on their hike to Frozen Lake in 2005. After the crossing, we briefly continued on the trail and then decided to follow some cairns that looked like a more direct route. Later, we determined these were probably cairns for those heading up McHenrys Peak. For a short spell, we were all hiking independently, until Ali hooked up with the correct cairns. The final portion of the route was up some slabs over towards the base of Spearhead. Ali and Sandy reached the lake at 8:45AM; I was about 15 minutes behind.

You can't really get lost up there, because it's wide open. However, there are a lot of streams, marshy areas, and patches of krummholz, so the trails and cairns mainly help you avoid those rather than lead on a direct path to Green or Frozen Lake. You can't see either of the lakes when you first get up on the shelf, so it's important to know the general lay of the land. Due to the number of destinations in the upper gorge, there is an abundance of trails and cairns to follow. That way, if you start to follow some cairns or a spotty trail, you can change course and cut your losses when you determine you're going astray.

It was a bit breezy and chilly at the lake. McHenrys and Stoneman Pass were up in the sun while the lake is shadowed by clouds. Clouds were forming over Longs while we took a nice break at the lake. We often have extension plans, depending on our original destination. Exploring the area up to Stoneman Pass was on the list today. However, the chilly breeze and cloudy skies didn't give us the motivation to continue. After about 30 minutes at the lake, we headed for the TH. It was probably a good choice not to have extended our hike as it looked pretty stormy up there when I stopped at Mills Lake for one last picture. Ali and Sandy made it back to the car at 11:40AM, and I finished up at noon. The last few tenths were in a light rain.

Hike Stats:

  1. Distance using the shorter fire trail in and out.

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